Welcome Warriors to the Criminal Justice guide where you'll find resources for your research or learning for fun! Check out the side links and links below for books, articles, and more! If you have any questions about this guide or need help finding a library material, citing a source, or research help, email me at ivargas2@csustan.edu.
Forensics : what bugs, burns, prints, DNA, and more tell us about crime by
Val McDermid is one of the finest crime writers we have, whose novels have captivated millions of readers worldwide with their riveting narratives of characters who solve complex crimes and confront unimaginable evil. In the course of researching her bestselling novels McDermid has become familiar with every branch of forensics, and now she uncovers the history of this science, real-world murders and the people who must solve them. The dead talk--to the right listener. They can tell us all about themselves: where they came from, how they lived, how they died, and, of course, who killed them. Forensic scientists can unlock the mysteries of the past and help serve justice using the messages left by a corpse, a crime scene, or the faintest of human traces. Forensics draws on interviews with some of these top-level professionals, ground-breaking research, and McDermid's own original interviews and firsthand experience on scene with top forensic scientists. Along the way, McDermid discovers how maggots collected from a corpse can help determine one's time of death; how a DNA trace a millionth the size of a grain of salt can be used to convict a killer; and how a team of young Argentine scientists led by a maverick American anthropologist were able to uncover the victims of a genocide. It's a journey that will take McDermid to war zones, fire scenes, and autopsy suites, and bring her into contact with both extraordinary bravery and wickedness, as she traces the history of forensics from its earliest beginnings to the cutting-edge science of the modern day.
Los Demonios Del Eden / the Demons of Eden by
En 2005 Lydia Cacho cimbró a la opinión pública con la aparición de Los demonios del Edén, una detallada investigación sobre la red de corrupción que protegía el abuso sexual de menores en Cancún por parte de famosos empresarios y funcionarios públicos. Los demonios del Edén cumplió en 2015 su décimo aniversario. Un libro que presenta la cadena que comienza con el abuso sexual infantil, la explotación sexual, el turismo sexual con menores, el comercio sexual con hombres de poder, la protección tanto policíaca como política de los pederastas, la pornografía, el lavado de dinero y el tráfico de influencias. Todo englobado en una poderosa y peligrosa red mundial de crimen organizado. En 2005 Lydia Cacho sometió a juicio de la opinión pública el famoso caso de Jean Succar Kuri, un hotelero de origen libanés, residente norteamericano, que cometía abuso sexual de menores en Cancún y era protegido tanto por autoridades locales como por políticos de gran envergadura, que incluso participaban del delito de corrupción de menores. Protegidos de las autoridades en un Refugio para Víctimas del delito de una ONG en Cancún, los menores denunciaron los hechos que, contra toda predicción, probaron los delitos ante la Procuraduría General de Justicia. Gracias a su valiente testimonio, Succar Kuri fue arrestado en Arizona. Actualmente su juicio continúa pendiente. ENGLISH DESCRIPTION In 2005, Lydia Cacho shook public opinion with the appearance of The Demons of Eden, a detailed investigation of the corruption network that protects the sexual abuse of minors in Cancun by famous businessmen and public officials. This book presents the chain reaction of child sexual abuse, sexual exploitation, sexual tourism with minors, the sex business of powerful men, police and political protection of pedophiles, pornography, money laundering, and the trafficking of influence. All of this, encompassed in a powerful and dangerous global web of organized crime. The book focuses on the famous case of Jean Succar Kuri, a Lebanese hotelier residing in North America, who commits child sexual abuse in Cancun and is protected as much by local authorities as by influential politicians, who even take part in the crime of the corruption of minors. Protected from the authorities in an NGO "safe house" in Cancun, the minors report the facts that, against all predictions, prove the crimes before the Attorney General. Thanks to their brave testimony, Succar Kuri is arrested in Arizona and is currently awaiting trial for federal crimes, based on the proof provided by his victims.
The rage of innocence : how America criminalizes Black youth by
A brilliant analysis of the foundations of racist policing in America- the day-to-day brutalities, largely hidden from public view, endured by Black youth growing up under constant police surveillance and the persistent threat of physical and psychological abuse "Storytelling that can make people understand the racial inequities of the legal system, and...restore the humanity this system has cruelly stripped from its victims." -New York Times Book Review Drawing upon twenty-five years of experience rep-resenting Black youth in Washington, D.C.'s juve-nile courts, Kristin Henning confronts America's irrational, manufactured fears of these young peo-ple and makes a powerfully compelling case that the crisis in racist American policing begins with its relationship to Black children. Henning explains how discriminatory and aggressive policing has socialized a generation of Black teenagers to fear, resent, and resist the police, and she details the long-term consequences of rac-ism that they experience at the hands of the police and their vigilante surrogates. She makes clear that unlike White youth, who are afforded the freedom to test boundaries, experiment with sex and drugs, and figure out who they are and who they want to be, Black youth are seen as a threat to White Amer-ica and are denied healthy adolescent development. She examines the criminalization of Black adoles-cent play and sexuality, and of Black fashion, hair, and music. She limns the effects of police presence in schools and the depth of police-induced trauma in Black adolescents. Especially in the wake of the recent unprece-dented, worldwide outrage at racial injustice and inequality, The Rage of Innocence is an essential book for our moment.
Written in bone : hidden stories in what we leave behind by
Winner of the Crime Writers' Association ALCS Gold Dagger for Nonfiction-- A tour through the human skeleton and the secrets our bones reveal, from the author of All That Remains In her memoir All That Remains, internationally renowned forensic anthropologist and human anatomist Dame Sue Black recounted her life lived eye to eye with the Grim Reaper. During the course of it, she offered a primer on the basics of identifying human remains, plenty of insights into the fascinating processes of death, and a sober, compassionate understanding of its inescapable presence in our existence, all leavened with her wicked sense of humor. In her new book, Sue Black builds on the first, taking us on a guided tour of the human skeleton and explaining how each person's life history is revealed in their bones, which she calls "the last sentinels of our mortal life to bear witness to the way we lived it." Her narrative follows the skeleton from the top of the skull to the small bones in the foot. Each step of the journey includes an explanation of the biology--how the bone is formed in a person's development, how it changes as we age, the secrets it may hold--and is illustrated with anecdotes from the author's career helping solve crimes and identifying human remains, whether recent or historical. Written in Bone is full of entertaining stories that read like scenes from a true-life CSI drama, infused with humor and no-nonsense practicality about the realities of corpses and death.
The dope : the real history of the Mexican drug trade by
A myth-busting, 100-year history of the Mexican drug trade that reveals how an industry founded by farmers and village healers became dominated by cartels and kingpins. The Mexican drug trade has inspired prejudiced narratives of a war between north and south, white and brown; between noble cops and vicious kingpins, corrupt politicians and powerful cartels. In this first comprehensive history of the trade, historian Benjamin T. Smith tells the real story of how and why this one-peaceful industry turned violent. He uncovers its origins and explains how this illicit business essentially built modern Mexico, affecting everything from agriculture to medicine to economics--and the country's all-important relationship with the United States. Drawing on unprecedented archival research; leaked DEA, Mexican law enforcement, and cartel documents; and dozens of harrowing interviews, Smith tells a thrilling story brimming with vivid characters--from Ignacia "La Nacha" Jasso, "queen pin" of Ciudad Juárez, to Dr. Leopoldo Salazar Viniegra, the crusading physician who argued that marijuana was harmless and tried to decriminalize morphine, to Harry Anslinger, the Machiavellian founder of the American Federal Bureau of Narcotics, who drummed up racist drug panics to increase his budget. Smith also profiles everyday agricultural workers, whose stories reveal both the economic benefits and the human cost of the trade. The Dope contains many surprising conclusions about drug use and the failure of drug enforcement, all backed by new research and data. Smith explains the complicated dynamics that drive the current drug war violence, probes the U.S.-backed policies that have inflamed the carnage, and explores corruption on both sides of the border. A dark morality tale about the American hunger for intoxication and the necessities of human survival, The Dope is essential for understanding the violence in the drug war and how decades-old myths shape Mexico in the American imagination today.
American Sherlock : murder, forensics, and the birth of American CSI by
Known as the 'American Sherlock Holmes,' Edward Oscar Heinrich was one of America's greatest forensic scientists, with a skill level that seemed almost supernatural. Heinrich spearheaded the invention of new forensic tools that police still use today, including blood spatter analysis, ballistics, lie-detector tests, and the use of fingerprints as courtroom evidence. His work, though not without its serious - some would say fatal - flaws, changed the course of American criminal investigation. Based on years of research, American Sherlock captures Heinrich's life, work, and legacy.
Insane : America's criminal treatment of mental illness by
In Insane, journalist Alisa Roth goes deep inside the criminal justice system to reveal how America's tough-on-crime policies have transformed it into a warehouse for people with mental illness, one where prisoners are denied proper treatment, abused, and punished in ways that make them sicker. She takes readers from the overwhelmed mental health units of the Los Angeles County Jail to the women's prisons of Oklahoma, which have one of the fastest-growing populations of people with mental illness in the country. She introduces us to ordinary people whose untreated mental illnesses drive them repeatedly into the justice system-and in some cases, to their deaths. Investigating police departments, courts, jails, and emergency health care facilities across the country, Roth provides the first nationwide account of this mental health crisis-and uncovers the hidden forces behind it. She also surveys a range of efforts to address the problem, making the case for a large-scale overhaul of mental health care and criminal justice. Insane is a galvanizing wake-up call for criminal justice reformers and anyone concerned about the plight of our most vulnerable.
Enough silence : creating sacred space for survivors of sexual assault through restorative justice by
Learn how restorative justice can offer healing to survivors of sexual abuse in your faith community Clara was five years old the first time she was raped by her father. The trauma stifled Clara's self-esteem, ability to trust others, and emotional regulation well into adulthood. But after an encounter with a repentant man who had committed the same crime against his own daughter--through a guided victim-offender dialogue--Clara was finally able to breathe. In Enough Silence, Cheryl Miller draws on more than two decades working with survivors of abuse to create the composite character of Clara. Her story represents countless real people in our faith communities living with a personal history of sexual trauma. Clara's story illustrates how restorative justice practices--implemented with care--can transform the lives of survivors. These practices include * holding offenders accountable, * lending direct voice to survivors, offenders, and members of the community, * taking into account all those with stakes in incidents of sexual abuse, * clarifying the organization's values, and * establishing a safe and structured environment for survivors. She also offers a road map for implementing victim-offender dialogue, surrogate dialogue, circles, and more. Enough Silence issues a call to pastors, clergy, nonprofit professionals, and other leaders to dismantle patriarchal systems that perpetuate rape culture. By embracing restorative justice practices, faith communities can imitate Christ in ministering to survivors and those who love them.
Queering Law and Order by
Throughout US history, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people have been pathologized, victimized, and criminalized. Reports of lynching, burning, or murdering of LGBTQ people have been documented for centuries. Prior to the 1970s, LGBTQ people were deemed as having psychological disorders and subsequently subject to electroshock therapy and other ineffective and cruel treatments. LGBTQ people have historically been arrested or imprisoned for crimes like sodomy, cross-dressing, and gathering in public spaces. And while there have been many strides to advocate for LGBTQ rights in contemporary times, there are still many ways that the criminal justice system works against LGBTQ and their lives, liberties, and freedoms. Queering Law and Order: LGBTQ Communities and the Criminal Justice System examines the state of LGBTQ people within the criminal justice system. Intertwining legal cases, academic research, and popular media, Nadal reviews a wide range of issues--ranging from historical heterosexist and transphobic legislation to police brutality to the prison industrial complex to family law. Grounded in Queer Theory and intersectional lenses, each chapter provides recommendations for queering and disrupting the justice system. This book serves as both an academic resource and a call to action for readers who are interested in advocating for LGBTQ rights.m historical heterosexist and transphobic legislation to police brutality to the prison industrial complex to family law. Grounded in Queer Theory and intersectional lenses, each chapter provides recommendations for queering and disrupting the justice system. This book serves as both an academic resource and a call to action for readers who are interested in advocating for LGBTQ rights.m historical heterosexist and transphobic legislation to police brutality to the prison industrial complex to family law. Grounded in Queer Theory and intersectional lenses, each chapter provides recommendations for queering and disrupting the justice system. This book serves as both an academic resource and a call to action for readers who are interested in advocating for LGBTQ rights.m historical heterosexist and transphobic legislation to police brutality to the prison industrial complex to family law. Grounded in Queer Theory and intersectional lenses, each chapter provides recommendations for queering and disrupting the justice system. This book serves as both an academic resource and a call to action for readers who are interested in advocating for LGBTQ rights.
Unmasked : my life solving America's cold cases by
**THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER** "It's a mark of the highest honor when I say it's even more riveting than an episode of 'Dateline'." --The New York Times From Paul Holes, the detective who found the Golden State Killer, Unmasked is a memoir that "grabs its reader in a stranglehold and proves more fascinating than fiction and darker than any noir narrative." (LA Magazine) I order another bourbon, neat. This is the drink that will flip the switch. I don't even know how I got here, to this place, to this point. Something is happening to me lately. I'm drinking too much. My sheets are soaking wet when I wake up from nightmares of decaying corpses. I order another drink and swig it, trying to forget about the latest case I can't shake. Crime solving for me is more complex than the challenge of the hunt, or the process of piecing together a scientific puzzle. The thought of good people suffering drives me, for better or worse, to the point of obsession. People always ask how I am able to detach from the horrors of my work. Part of it is an innate capacity to compartmentalize; the rest is experience and exposure, and I've had plenty of both. But I have always taken pride in the fact that I can keep my feelings locked up to get the job done. It's only been recently that it feels like all that suppressed darkness is beginning to seep out. When I look back at my long career, there is a lot I am proud of. I have caught some of the most notorious killers of the twenty-first century and brought justice and closure for their victims and families. I want to tell you about a lifetime solving these cold cases, from Laci Peterson to Jaycee Dugard to the Pittsburg homicides to, yes, my twenty-year-long hunt for the Golden State Killer. But a deeper question eats at me as I ask myself, at what cost? I have sacrificed relationships, joy--even fatherhood--because the pursuit of evil always came first. Did I make the right choice? It's something I grapple with every day. Yet as I stand in the spot where a young girl took her last breath, as I look into the eyes of her family, I know that, for me, there has never been a choice. "I don't know if I can solve your case," I whisper. "But I promise I will do my best." It is a promise I know I can keep.
American injustice : inside stories from the underbelly of the criminal justice system by
From the fearless defense attorney and civil rights lawyer who rose to fame with Netflix's The Staircase comes a "bracing account of abuses of power and corruption in the criminal justice system." (The Guardian) "A fine companion to Bryan Stevenson's Just Mercy and Emily Bazelon's Charged. A stellar--and often shocking--report on a broken criminal justice system." --Kirkus Reviews (starred review) In the past thirty years alone, more than 2,800 innocent American prisoners--their combined sentences surpassing 25,000 years--have been exonerated and freed after being condemned for crimes they did not commit. Terrifyingly, this number represents only a fraction of the actual number of persons wrongfully accused and convicted over the same period. Renowned criminal defense and civil rights attorney David Rudolf has spent decades defending the wrongfully accused. In American Injustice, he draws from his years of experience in the American criminal legal system to shed light on the misconduct that exists at all levels of law enforcement and the tragic consequences that follow in its wake. Tracing these themes through the lens of some of his most important cases--including new details from the Michael Peterson trial made famous in The Staircase--Rudolf takes the reader inside crime scenes to examine forensic evidence left by perpetrators; revisits unsolved murders to detail how and why the true culprits were never prosecuted; reveals how confirmation bias leads police and prosecutors to employ tactics that make wrongful arrests and prosecutions more likely; and exposes how poverty and racism fundamentally distort the system. In American Injustice, Rudolf gives a voice to those who have been the victim of wrongful accusations and shows in the starkest terms the human impact of legal wrongdoing. Effortlessly blending gripping true-crime reporting and searing observations on civil rights in America, American Injustice takes readers behind the scenes of a justice system in desperate need of reform.
Murderabilia : a history of crime in 100 objects by
From veteran true crime master Harold Schechter comes a unique look into the history of crime told through the dark objects left behind. The false teeth of a female serial killer from 1908, the cut-and-paste confession of the Black Dahlia killer, the newly cracked cipher of the Zodiac killer, the shotgun used in the Clutter family murders, which were made famous by Truman Capote's true crime classic In Cold Blood--these are more than simple artifacts that once belonged to notorious murderers. They are objets of fascination to the legion of true crime obsessives around the world. And not merely for fleeting dark thrills, but because they represent a way to better understand those who we typically label monsters in lieu of learning how they actually became one. In Murderabilia, veteran true crime writer Harold Schechter presents 100 murder-related artifacts spanning two centuries (1808-2014), with accompanying stories of various lengths. A visual and literary journey, it presents a history unlike any previously told in the true crime genre, one that speaks to the dark fascination of true crime fans while also presenting a larger historical timeline of how and why we continue to be captivated by the most sensational crimes and killers among us.
All the living and the dead : from embalmers to executioners, an exploration of the people who have made death their life's work by
A deeply compelling exploration of the death industry and the people--morticians, detectives, crime scene cleaners, embalmers, executioners--who work in it and what led them there. We are surrounded by death. It is in our news, our nursery rhymes, our true-crime podcasts. Yet from a young age, we are told that death is something to be feared. How are we supposed to know what we're so afraid of, when we are never given the chance to look? Fueled by a childhood fascination with death, journalist Hayley Campbell searches for answers in the people who make a living by working with the dead. Along the way, she encounters mass fatality investigators, embalmers, and a former executioner who is responsible for ending sixty-two lives. She meets gravediggers who have already dug their own graves, visits a cryonics facility in Michigan, goes for late-night Chinese with a homicide detective, and questions a man whose job it is to make crime scenes disappear. Through Campbell's incisive and candid interviews with these people who see death every day, she asks: Why would someone choose this kind of life? Does it change you as a person? And are we missing something vital by letting death remain hidden? A dazzling work of cultural criticism, All the Living and the Dead weaves together reportage with memoir, history, and philosophy, to offer readers a fascinating look into the psychology of Western death.
Covered with night : a story of murder and indigenous justice in early America by
In the winter of 1722, on the eve of a major conference between the Five Nations of the Haudenosaunee (also known as the Iroquois) and Anglo-American colonists, a pair of colonial fur traders brutally assaulted a Seneca hunter near Conestoga, Pennsylvania. Though virtually forgotten today, the crime ignited a contest between Native American forms of justice--rooted in community, forgiveness, and reparations--and the colonial ideology of harsh reprisal that called for the accused killers to be executed if found guilty. In Covered with Night, historian Nicole Eustace reconstructs the attack and its aftermath, introducing a group of unforgettable individuals--from the slain man's resilient widow to an Indigenous diplomat known as "Captain Civility" to the scheming governor of Pennsylvania--as she narrates a remarkable series of criminal investigations and cross-cultural negotiations. Taking its title from a Haudenosaunee metaphor for mourning, Covered with Night ultimately urges us to consider Indigenous approaches to grief and condolence, rupture and repair, as we seek new avenues of justice in our own era.
Easy money : cryptocurrency, casino capitalism, and the golden age of fraud by
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER LONGLISTED FOR THE FINANCIAL TIMES 2023 BUSINESS BOOK OF THE YEAR "A smart, savvy road map through the mayhem of the cryptocurrency madness." --RON CHERNOW, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Alexander Hamilton From "one of the crypto industry's unlikely but most prominent critics" (Washington Post), an entertaining and well-researched account of the rise and fall of cryptocurrency. At the height of the pandemic, TV star Ben McKenzie was the perfect mark for cryptocurrency: a dad stuck at home with some cash in his pocket, worried about his family, armed with only the vague notion that people were making heaps of money on something he--despite a degree in economics--didn't entirely understand. Lured in by grandiose, utopian promises, and sure, a little bit of FOMO, McKenzie dove deep into blockchain, Bitcoin, and the various other coins and exchanges on which they are traded. But after scratching the surface, he had to ask, "Am I crazy, or is this all a total scam?" In Easy Money, McKenzie enlists the help of journalist Jacob Silverman for an investigative adventure into crypto and its remarkable crash. Weaving together stories of average traders and victims, colorful crypto "visionaries," Hollywood's biggest true believers, anti-crypto whistleblowers, and government operatives, Easy Money is an on-the-ground look at a perfect storm of irresponsibility and criminal fraud. Based on original reporting across the country and abroad, including interviews with Sam Bankman-Fried, Tether cofounder Brock Pierce, Celsius's Alex Mashinsky, and more, this is the book on cryptocurrency you've been waiting for.
Injustice, Inc. : how America's justice system commodifies children and the poor by
An unflinching exposé of how the family, juvenile, and criminal justice systems monetize the communities they purport to serve and trap them in crushing poverty Injustice, Inc. exposes the ways in which justice systems exploit America's history of racial and economic inequality to generate revenue on a massive scale. With searing legal analysis, Daniel L. Hatcher uncovers how courts, prosecutors, police, probation departments, and detention facilities are abandoning ethics to churn vulnerable children and adults into unconstitutional factory-like operations. Hatcher reveals stark details of revenue schemes and reflects on the systemic racialized harm of the injustice enterprise. He details how these corporatized institutions enter contracts to make money removing children from their homes, extort fines and fees, collaborate with debt collectors, seize property, incentivize arrests and evictions, enforce unpaid child labor, maximize occupancy in detention and "treatment" centers, and more. Injustice, Inc. underscores the need to unravel these predatory operations, which have escaped public scrutiny for too long.
